“You can do you
whatever you want
in the whole world
from here in the Tees
Valley – you just have
to dream big, then go
out and do it.”
Mike Racz arrived in England from Hungary
without a job. Now he owns one of the UK’s
largest franchise businesses.
Within three months, he was store
manager, rose to area manager
and applied to become a franchisee
in November 2005. Out of 8,000
applicants, he made it to the final six
and after proving his credentials by
running six branches in Newcastle, he
opened his own franchise in Hartlepool
six months later.
However, it didn’t go well. In fact, it
was “a complete disaster”. “We made
great pizzas, with fast delivery, but I was
totally out of my depth when it came to
the business side,” he admits.
Many might have thrown in the pizza-
cutter, but not Mike. His response to the
Hartlepool branch losing money was to
borrow more money to open branches
in Scarborough and Redcar, while
making sure he learned more about
finance.
Fast forward to today and the Racz
Group owns 29 Domino’s branches,
with the latest just opening in Ormesby
Road, Middlesbrough. The group also
includes 15 Costa Coffee shops and 18
Anytime Fitness gyms as well as other
businesses including cocktail bars and
18 | Tees Business
digital agencies. It employs around
1,000 people from 28 countries and has
a turnover of £35m.
Back home in Hungary, his parents
and sister, Aniko, are naturally proud
of what Mike has achieved but find
the scale of his success hard to
comprehend.
“My parents are working class
people and although they come
here on holidays, it’s hard for them
to understand just how big it has all
become,” he explains. “If I decided
to sell everything now, it would be a
multi-million pound company and those
numbers would be beyond what they
can imagine.”
That said, he’s quick to stress there
are no plans to sell the Racz group
because it is no longer just about
money. As the employer of 1,000
people, and in the context of his own
journey, he has a strong sense of duty
to his employees.
“If someone offered me a billion, I
honestly wouldn’t sell because it would
be like selling my family,” says Mike,
who is the devoted father of a seven-
year-old girl called Connie. “It might
sound corny and romantic, but I feel a
real responsibility to them and I want to
look after them as best I can.”
Stephen Winspear is cited as a
notable example. When he joined the
company as a driver in 2006, he had
few qualifications but a great work
ethic and is now the group’s operations
manager.
“Attitude is everything to me and
Stephen is proof of where that can take
you,” says Mike.
On the wall outside the entrance to
the Racz offices there’s a sign outlining
the group’s three core values.
• Absolute Integrity.
• Always act in the best interest of
the business.
• If you criticise, make sure you are
willing to offer a solution.
“Values drive behaviours and our
culture is the same across all our brands
and at all levels,” says Mike. “Whether
you are a barista in Keswick or making
pizzas in Hartlepool the expectation is
exactly the same.”
Clearly, they are principles that have